A/N: I've been trying to make Sirius a more authoritative character since I've started writing year 5 because Harry has a lot of angst and I just think it's more fitting. I also want to show Harry as more independent, as he is getting older. Anyway, sorry it's taken me so long to write - I was on summer vacation. I plan to get back into it now that I'm in school again!

In the days that followed, Harry grew stronger and became more aware of his surroundings, gaining a better understanding of what had transpired after he was hit with the curse. He grew anxious whenever Sirius had to go meet with Dumbledore or do something for The Order, but Hermione and Ron were often visiting the hospital wing during these times and would reassure him of his godfather's safety. Remus and Sirius took turns staying with Harry when the other left to go teach, and they both spent a great deal of time catching him up on his lessons and helping him gain his strength back.

The Christmas holidays were fast approaching, and it had been arranged for The Order to celebrate Christmas at Grimmauld Place, being that the hidden house was the safest location. Once there, Harry would continue his healing process, as well as his training with Dumbledore for destroying horcruxes.

The horcrux problem that caused the entire fiasco in the Department of Mysteries still wasn't solved, and despite Dumbledore's constant reassurance, Sirius was worried sick about Harry's future fate. On Harry's first day back to classes before the holidays, Sirius expressed this concern to Remus in his office.

"Is it selfish of me to hide Harry away his entire life? I mean sure, that means Voldemort couldn't be destroyed, but Harry would live the long life James and Lily intended for him to," Sirius rambled, pacing in front of his desk.

"Not only would it be a bad thing for the entire world, but it would also be bad for Harry. You would smother him if you went into hiding for the rest of your lives." Remus reasoned, shaking his head. "Dumbledore has told you time and time again that he has a plan, why can't you accept that and wait?"

"Because, Dumbledore has the wizarding world's best intentions in his plan - not Harry's. What if he's just saying that to me so I can give my permission to let my son get killed by Voldemort?" Sirius asked, staring out the window in a brooding fashion.

Before Remus could respond, Harry and Ron walked into the office, Ron ranting angrily about something relating to Ginny and Dean Thomas. "Then she told me to mind my own bloody business, can you believe that, Harry? Not to mention the betrayal on Dean's part too - we've been roommates for five years and all of the sudden he decides he fancies my sister!"

Harry looked mildly uncomfortable as he nodded his agreement. "Yeah, mate. Er… must be pretty weird."

Sirius cleared his throat to get the boys' attention. Both of them turned to him, and Sirius noticed that Harry was extremely pale. "Harry, is everything alright?" Sirius asked, wondering why the two had come into the office in the first place. The school day had ended and it was dinner time in the Great Hall.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said. "Just was wondering if Ron and I could eat dinner with you guys tonight. I've had a long day…"

Harry trailed off and Ron looked at him, slightly challenging. "A long day is all you'd call it? Malfoy really-"

Before Ron could finish, Harry had nudged him the ribs and gave him a warning glare.

"Of course you both can, but what did Malfoy do? If you don't mind my asking," Remus said, standing up from the desk chair he had been seated at and taking a few strides towards the door.

"Nothing important," Harry said vaguely, eyeing Ron as he followed Remus into the hallway.

"Harry," Sirius warned, beginning to feel concerned.

"It's nothing," Harry said again, firmly. "Just drop it."

If the four of them hadn't been in the middle of the corridor, Sirius would have pushed the matter; due to the circumstances, however, he let it slide. "Very well then," he said curtly, pushing forward to lead to his quarters.

After a few minutes of heavy silence, they reached Sirius's living space. He spoke the password, then stepped inside, followed by Remus, Ron, and a guilty, yet frustrated looking Harry.

They all sat around the table and waited quietly for the food to appear in front of them. Remus attempted at small talk, but Ron was the only one that was actually responding. Something was majorly bothering Harry, but Sirius was so frustrated about the boy's previous stubbornness that he didn't ask.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and once everyone had finished, Harry jumped up from his seat. "Let's go, Ron."

This was the final straw for Sirius, who had been stewing in his chair for the last thirty minutes over the way the evening had transpired. "Not so fast, young man," he said harshly, his voice sounding more authoritative than it ever had.

Harry's eyes flashed in anger, but he didn't say anything.

"Remus, will you escort Ron to the common room? I need a word with my son." Sirius said, his voice not losing the harsh tone.

"No, I want him to stay here." Harry said defiantly, stepping closer to his godfather and raising himself to his full height to appear intimidating; despite this, Sirius still towered over him.

Remus walked over to Ron and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go, Ron. I'll take you back to the common room, Harry will be there soon."

"No, didn't you hear me?" Harry said angrily, turning to them. "I want him to stay here."

"What is your problem?" Sirius asked as Remus walked Ron out of the room, despite Harry's protests.

Instead of responding, Harry stormed off in the direction of his room, fully intending to lock himself in there until his godfather quit pestering him.

Anger was coursing through Sirius as he cast the spell, one he would soon regret. He had only intended to shock Harry, just get him to turn around and listen with the weak stunning spell he sent the boy's way; instead he found him howling in agony on the ground.

The color drained from the man's face as he rushed over to his son's side. "Harry, Harry, what happened? It was just a stunner… oh bloody hell," Sirius mumbled, panicked. He noticed Harry was clutching his side, writhing in pain.

"Puppy, move your hand," Sirius said, attempting to get the boy's shirt off and see the damage that had been done.

"No!" Harry shouted, panic gracing his features as he writhed away from his father. "No, you can't."

"Why not? I can help you, Harry. Why are you pushing yourself away from me?" Sirius said, grabbing his son by the arm and pulling him closer with ease.

After a bit more struggling, Sirius managed to get the shirt off - the image he saw made him sick. A burn, not unlike the one Malfoy had given him last year, was on Harry's side. It was obviously put there with dark magic, and bloody words had been engraved in the skin on Harry's back that read "You'll pay for this, Potter."

Harry saw the disgust on his father's face and felt traitorous tears gather in his eyes. He hadn't wanted Sirius to find out, and had to beg Hermione to subdue the dark curse so he wouldn't have to return to the hospital wing again. Hermione had done it on the condition that Harry would tell Sirius what Draco had done, but he didn't want to burden his father yet again with an injury - he had already burdened him enough with the horcrux problem.

Sirius saw red - his blood was boiling at the thought of what he would do to the young Malfoy for this. He was so caught up in his plans for vengeance that he didn't notice how upset Harry was getting until the boy was practically hyperventilating.

"Harry, calm down, you're going to be okay. I'm not mad at you," Sirius attempted to soothe, reaching a hand out to stroke the boy's dark hair. Harry cringed away, crawling across the floor to put space between his father and him.

As Harry caught his breath, his anger returned full force. He stood up as abruptly as his injury would allow him to, and he walked briskly to the door. Sirius used his wand to shut and lock it.

Harry turned around, his eyes flashing. He wasn't exactly sure why he was lashing out so badly, but he was beginning to panic - he didn't want to have this conversation, he just wanted to be left alone. "Let me out," he said, his voice shaking with a mixture of fury and panic.

Despite Sirius's attempt to calm down, his anger was rising again at his son's defiance. "No, you sit down," Sirius said in a deathly quiet way, as if inviting Harry to challenge his authority.

Harry knew in his heart that Sirius wouldn't hurt him, but he also knew his father had a terrible temper, and was beginning to realize that he was pushing his luck. Feeling his heart beating out of his chest, he moved quickly to the couch and sat down in front of the man. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, not wanting to see the anger and disgust in Sirius's eyes.

"Now, I want to make myself plain. You are not, under any circumstance, to behave this way again. Do you understand?" Sirius said gruffly, staring down at Harry.

Harry didn't move at all, just kept looking at the floor. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat that was rising.

"Harry," Sirius said louder, grabbing the boy's chin and roughly tilting his head up to meet his eyes. "Do you understand?"

Sirius's strict demeanor practically diminished when he saw the lost, hurt look in his son's eyes. He got down on a knee and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Merlin, you're a mess. What's the matter?"

To Harry's own disgust, tears were streaming down his face. He just wanted to be left alone - the pressure of everything was crashing down around him. He thought for sure Sirius would get angry again, would tell him to quit acting like a baby; instead, he found himself wrapped in a strong embrace, his godfather's cheek pressed against the top of his head.

"Maybe Ron should have stayed," Sirius mumbled as he hugged his son. "You're in no state to talk about this. I'm a bloody idiot… we need to get Madame Pomfrey here now."

"No!" Harry yelled, attempting to pull back from his father as panic gripped him again. "I'm fine, it's a little cut-"

"This," Sirius said firmly, gesturing toward the boy's side, "is not a little cut. This is an attack, very similar to what you endured last year. I won't stand for that. I'm getting you some medical attention, then you and I are going to have a chat."

Harry watched in horror as the patronus was sent off to Pomfrey, with nothing he could do about it.

They sat in silence and waited for Pomfrey to bring the burn salve. When she arrived, she asked to see where Harry was cursed, but to the boy's relief, Sirius denied her.

"Not now, Poppy, I'll bring him by before we leave for holiday." The man said with no room for argument.

The matron was clearly offended and began to protest, but looking at Harry's miserable demeanor, she stopped. "I expect to see him by tomorrow evening at the latest. Patient health is no laughing matter, Mr. Black."

Sirius nodded, and waited until she departed to open the salve. "Take your shirt off," he said strictly, but his eyes were gentle.

Harry obeyed somewhat grudgingly. Sirius grabbed some of the salve and rubbed it on the wound - Harry felt relief in the area almost immediately.

"There," Sirius said when he finished. "Much better. Now, why don't you tell me what happened?"

Harry hesitated, but nodded. "Well, class was fine all day. I mean, kids were whispering about how they thought for sure I had died, but other than that, it was relatively normal. Draco thinks I'm the reason his father's in Azkaban, so he was the only one that really gave me any trouble. McGonagall asked me to stay behind in her class so she could talk to me about where I was at for my OWL's, since I had been sick and everything. Hermione and Ron had gone on to the library to study before dinner, so when I left her office I was alone. About halfway to the library, Malfoy and four other Slytherins cornered me and attacked. I managed to stun a few of them, but I was by myself and they got the best of me…" Harry trailed off and looked down at the floor again.

Sirius put an arm around the boy and leaned in to kiss the top of his head. "What happened after?"

Harry sighed. "Well, Malfoy cursed me, then they all disappeared. Not wanting a teacher to find me, I walked to the library and begged Hermione to help me so I wouldn't have to go back to the hospital wing. She said she'd help if I promised to tell you…"

Sirius frowned. "I had to stun you to figure out what was wrong - why didn't you just tell me?"

"I've burdened you enough." Harry mumbled, looking away.

"Harry James Potter," Sirius said, shaking his head. "You could never be a burden. I love you with all that I am."

Harry felt the lump rising in his throat again, but he nodded. He decided not to bring up the horcrux issue, or any of his other worries. He was thoroughly exhausted anyway.

As if reading his mind, Sirius grasped his shoulder more firmly. "Is there anything else?"

Harry shook his head. "Can I go to sleep now?"

Sirius nodded, "Yes, but I don't want you in the dorm tonight. Okay?"

"Okay," Harry said, standing up and retreating towards his bedroom.

"Goodnight," Sirius called after him, but if Harry had heard, he ignored it.

Sirius sighed and retreated to his own room, accepting that this problem was far from over.